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For Immediate Release
May 24, 2005

Contact:
Putri Alam
Director, Information Services
(202) 416-6714
palam@usasean.org
 

Business Council Wraps Up Nation-Wide Tour;
High-Profile DC Dinner Celebrates ASEAN-US Relations

(Washington, DC) The US-ASEAN Business Council wrapped up its annual US Ambassadors Tour tonight with a gala dinner for more than 300 Washington government officials, current diplomatic community, business leaders, scholars and former diplomats. The dinner featured a keynote speech by United States Senator Christopher S “Kit” Bond (R-MO), and remarks by US Ambassador to Singapore Frank Lavin. (“ASEAN” stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

 

The Tour kicked off on May 15 with a stop in San Diego, CA. Between San Diego and Washington DC, the delegation of US Ambassadors and their Senior Commercial Officers (SCOs) conducted a rigorous nation-wide schedule, including stops in Las Vegas, Houston, Memphis and Baltimore. Participating American Ambassadors to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam met in each Tour city with scores of local businesses, government officials, academia, and media to share with them perspectives on the region.

The 2005 Tour was made possible by National Sponsors ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, FedEx Express, Harrah's and QUALCOMM, five icons of American enterprise that have enhanced prosperity at home by operations throughout the world.

Since 1992, the U.S. Ambassadors Tour has visited more than 30 major American cities to educate businesses, public officials, students and academics, the media, and the public at large about business opportunities and the business and economic environment in ASEAN. In that period, the Ambassadors and Senior Commercial Officers have met with and provided information and assistance to thousands of small, medium, and large U.S. companies seeking trade and commercial opportunities in the ASEAN region.



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The US-ASEAN Business Council is America's leading private business organization dedicated to
promoting increased trade and investment between the United States and the member nations of
ASEAN. The Council's membership includes 150 of the Fortune 500 American companies with trade
and investment interests in the ASEAN region. The Council's members represent diverse industries, including aerospace, agribusiness, automobiles, computers and information technology, media and entertainment industry, consumer goods, energy exploration and development, express delivery
services, financial services, health care and pharmaceuticals, mining, software, and
telecommunications. For information on the US-ASEAN Business Council or general information on
the ASEAN region, visit the Council's Web site at www.us-asean.org.